- July 11, 2013 09:39am EST
Topping tech headlines on Wednesday, T-Mobile announced a new upgrade plan called "Jump," where subscribers on installment plans will be able to trade in their phones every six months.The company also lit up more 4G LTE cities for a total of 116 markets covering 157 million people. At a New York press event, T-Mobile also talked up its "un-carrier approach, which CEO John Legere said is drawing customers to the company. About 26 percent of potential wireless carrier switchers are looking at T-Mobile, compared to 9 percent for Sprint, 10 percent for AT&T, and 19 percent for Verizon, he said.
In other news, Google overhauled its Maps app for Android smartphones and tablets, giving it some new search, navigation, and discovery features. The revamped app aims to help users more easily navigate around traffic, with new reports of problems on the road and incident details. Google also added a new Explore feature, which offers suggestions of places to eat, drink, sleep, and shop. The update, however, means the elimination of Latitude and check-ins, effective Aug. 9. The same changes will soon make their way to iPhone and iPad apps.
Meanwhile, Facebook-owned Instagram introduced Web embedding, an easy way to add filtered photos and now video to any website that supports HTML. On the Instagram desktop Web browser, users will find a new "share" button, located on the right side of a photo, under the comments button. Click to get the embed code, then copy and paste the text into a blog, website, or article. All embedded content will link back to the original photographer's Instagram profile.
Also making headlines Wednesday:
- Apple Found Guilty of E-Book Price Fixing: Apple was dealt a setback on Wednesday when a New York district judge found that Cupertino is guilty of e-book price fixing.
- YouSendIt Rebrands as Hightail, Adds Unlimited Storage Plan: File-sharing site YouSendIt shed its paper-airplane logo and stifling title, and is now stepping out with a new name and purpose.
- Voice Calls Return to Gmail Via Hangouts: Google has fixed a problem to allow for outbound Google Voice calls within its new Hangouts experience on Gmail and Chrome.
- Old-School Apple 1 Fetches $387K at Auction: For one lucky bidder with deep pockets, the chance to get a piece of tech history came with a six-figure price tag.
- Pirate Bay Co-Founder Crowdfunding Encrypted Messaging App: The Kickstarter-like campaign is intended to help fund Hemlis, a new secure messaging app.
- Apple, Amazon Drop Fight Over 'App Store' Name: On the fifth anniversary of Apple's App Store, Cupertino dropped its lawsuit against Amazon over the retailer's use of the term "app store."
- Report: Iran Rolling Out National Email Service: Iran is rolling out a national email service intended to help the government more effectively communicate with citizens.
- BlackBerry Ousts U.S. Sales Chief, Makes Name Change Official: The beleaguered smartphone maker's continuing market share slide in the U.S. rankled investors as executives pledged to forge ahead with a restructuring plan.
- Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Other Miramax Movies Heading to Amazon Prime: Amazon has reached a licensing deal with Miramax to bring hundreds of popular movies to its Prime Instant Video service.
- Infographic: Tweeting Your Way to a Successful Business: A new infographic from Fedelta urges businesses to jump head first into the social media pool.
- Rumor: Foxconn Hiring Workers to Make Next-Gen iPhone: Contract manufacturing giant Foxconn is rumored to be recruiting factory workers to build Apple's next iPhone, which is expected by many to be released later this year.
